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Olympics: The ruling is in for 15-year-old Kamila Valieva, the ROC skater

February 14, 2022
The GIST: Overnight, 15-year-old Kamila Valieva — the ROC skater at the center of a doping scandal — was cleared, with conditions, to skate in tomorrow’s women’s singles short program. A dramatic conclusion to this bombshell story.
Sports NewsFigure Skating
Olympics: The ruling is in for 15-year-old Kamila Valieva, the ROC skaterOlympics: The ruling is in for 15-year-old Kamila Valieva, the ROC skater
MATTHEW STOCKMAN/GETTY IMAGES

The GIST: Overnight, 15-year-old Kamila Valieva — the ROC skater at the center of a doping scandal — was cleared, with conditions, to skate in tomorrow’s women’s singles short program. A dramatic conclusion to this bombshell story.

The decision: Despite testing positive for a banned heart medication in December (and only receiving the result last week), the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld the Russian Anti-Doping Agency’s decision to lift Valieva’s provisional suspension.

  • CAS cited “exceptional circumstances” as a factor in their decision, including that Valieva, a minor, is a “protected person.” Yeah right.

The response: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will not hold a medal ceremony should Valieva make the podium, which is highly likely after she placed first in last week’s team event.

  • In our opinion, former U.S. figure skater (and current NBC analyst) Johnny Weir said it best: “The Olympics has to be clean, or it’s not fair…This is a slap in the face to the Olympic Games, to our sport.”
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